Ricky Gervais

Ricky Dene Gervais is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and singer. Gervais initially worked in the music industry as the singer of the new wave act Seona Dancing and managed the band Suede before transitioning to comedy. In addition to his early music career, he reconnected with music through his comedic character, David Brent, performing a live tour and producing a series of YouTube videos called 'Learn Guitar with David Brent' in 2013.

Gervais entered the comedy scene appearing on "The 11 O'Clock Show" on Channel 4 between 1998 and 2000. A year later, he achieved greater mainstream fame with his BBC television series, "The Office," which he co-wrote and co-directed with Stephen Merchant. "The Office" received the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy in 2004. This success was followed by "Extras" in 2005, a sitcom that won Gervais the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2007. He reprised his role as Brent in the comedy film David Brent: Life on the Road, which he also wrote and directed.

Throughout his career, Gervais has continued to produce notable work. He launched a successful podcast, "The Ricky Gervais Show," which has spawned various spin-offs. He has also created and starred in several other television series, including "Derek" and "After Life," the latter of which premiered on Netflix in 2019. Gervais has continued his stand-up career with multiple tours, including the critically acclaimed SuperNature shows in 2019 and 2020. His comedy special, "Armageddon," was released on Netflix and won "Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television" at the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

He has also hosted the Golden Globe Awards five times, receiving both praise and criticism for his controversial humor. Throughout his career, Gervais has been recognized with numerous awards, including seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, and two Emmy Awards. He has also received three Golden Globe Awards and the 2006 Rose d'Or, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, he was named the third most influential person in British culture. In 2007, he was voted the 11th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups and again in the updated 2010 list as the 3rd greatest stand-up comic. In 2010, he was named on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.

Offstage, Gervais is a committed supporter of animal rights and has stated that he will leave his fortune to animal charities. He received the Lord Houghton Award for Service to Animal Welfare from Animal Defenders International in 2017. He also created a comic story called "Bullfight" in collaboration with illustrator Rob Steen to fight the climate and biodiversity crisis. Gervais is an honorary associate of the UK's National Secular Society and a patron of Humanists UK, for which he received the 2019 Richard Dawkins Award for proclaiming the values of secularism and rationalism.